Don't Let Me Go
by littlehanyan
Summary: A fairy sends three ghosts after Rumplestiltskin in order to make him see the mistake he made when he kicked Belle out. Is it too late for his happy ending? / Based on A Chrtistmas Carol. For the ouat secret santa.


_Why do you spin so much?_ She had asked.

Spinning made him forget. At least that's what Rumplestiltskin told himself. That was why he was always spinning. Though if he had to be honest, these past months he hadn't been spinning in order to forget. They had been perfect, there wasn't anything he wanted to forget.

Anything or anyone. But now he was alone just like before.

He stopped abruptly when he heard something.

''Don't try to sneak on the Dark One, dearie.''

Behind him was standing a rather scared fairy. She was dressed in a pink dress and was shaking constantly. If he remembered correctly she was one of those to-be-fairies the Blue Fairy was training.

''Dark One, I have a message for you.'' She squeaked.

A message? Since when did fairies come here to deliver him messages?

Before he could tell her to get out she continued, now she seemed braver than before. ''We have noticed the sudden change in you for the past few months. However, after you kicked out that fair maiden it's all been going back to how it was before.''

''Change? I have no idea what you're talking about, dearie.'' He was a good liar, he knew that, but somehow the fairy didn't seem to buy it.

''Everyone deserves a happy ending, even you.'' When he didn't say anything she continued. ''You could have had happiness.''

''Go away.'' Rumplestiltskin was starting to lose his temper.

''And you still can.'' The girl insisted.

That was it. He jumped from his seat and yelled at her. ''I said go away!''

The fairy froze in her place. She had lost all her courage, it seemed.

''If you don't want to end up like the last fairy I met,'' Rumplestiltskin pointed at a wand in the other part of the room ''you will get out of here right now.''

The girl gulped. ''It looks like you want to be stubborn. Very well then. Tonight you're gonna be visited by three ghosts. If by the end of the night you still haven't changed your mind, you will have to face your destiny.'' And with that she disappeared.

Of course he didn't believe a word she said. Ghosts? Happy ending? Was she for real? All of this was obviously just a way to weaken him so they can defeat him more easily. Not that they'd succeed.

* * *

He stopped spinning when he heard a loud crash. The door opened and someone he thought he'd never see again opened the room.

''Bae.'' He gasped.

The boy shook his head. ''I am not Bae, I just look like him.''

Disappointed,Rumplestiltskin gritted his teeth. ''Then who are you?''

''I'm the ghost of your past. I've taken the form of your son in order to make it less confusing for you.''

Less confusing? It made it way more confusing.

''Anyway, it's time to go.'' The kid grabbed his hand and they disappeared. When he opened his eyes, Rumplestiltskin found himself in his old house. He was holding baby Bae in his arms and was smiling.

''You know, personally, I think what you did was rather brave. It's not easy to break your own leg and yet you did it for your son.''

''That's not what everyone else said.''

''Yes but does their opinion really matter?''

''They called me a coward all my life. My wife left me for that damn pirate...''

''But Baelfire never thought of you that way, did he? At least not until you broke your promise.''

The scene changed to Rumplestiltskin playing with three year old Bae.

''You loved your son so much and you were so happy back then. And yet for a short period of time you became so dependant on magic that you couldn't live without it. You were afraid.''

They were yet again in his castle but he knew they were still in the past. He could tell because she was there. They were sitting on the table and talking about this and that. Her smile was so bright that he couldn't help but smile, too.

''You look so happy here. Why did you sent her away?''

''Because I'm a coward.''

''Even if that were true, you always have a chance to change.''

Suddenly he was back at the spinning wheel as if nothing had happened. Except the fact that an hour had passed.

* * *

Someone put hands on his shoulders and that made Rumplestiltskin look up. He nearly jumped in surprise. Belle was standing right there, wearing the blue gown from their first meeting.

''You aren't really Belle, are you?''

The girl shook her head. ''No, I'm not. I'm...''

''The ghost of my present? I'm sorry, dearie, but thanks to your friend, the ghost of my past, I am behind with my work. I have no time for you.''

''You actually think you can defy me?'' She giggled. ''This is so very cute. Now let's hurry up because we're wasting time.

The ghost grabbed his hand and they appeared in a tavern. And then he saw her. Belle was sitting on a table talking to a dwarf. The real Belle, not an impostor. But she was different, the Belle in his memories was always smiling but this one looked rather sad.

_''It's the most wonderful and amazing thing in the world. Love is hope, fuels our dreams. And if you're in it, you need to enjoy it. Because love doesn't always last forever. ''_

"You do realize that by pushing her away you ruined her life too?"

"I've had enough. Take me back to the castle. Please." It had been such a long time since he'd begged like that. He just wanted to get away from there. He couldn't bare to look at her like that.

The other Belle nodded her head and just like that he found himself back in the castle. He didn't even have time to think about what happened because a cold hand grabbed his shoulder.

"You must be the ghost of my future. Here to finish me?" Rumplestiltskin asked mockingly.

He couldn't tell who the last ghost was because the person was wearing a black cloak. They gestured at him to follow them and he did. He figured that seeing what the ghost had to show him wouldn't hurt. What more could they do to him?

To put it simply he was not ready to see what he saw. He and Regina were talking and clearly the topic of the discussion was Belle.

_"After a while she threw herself of the tower."_ She said it so casually like it meant nothing. And maybe to her it didn't but it certainly did to Rumplestiltskin. Both of them froze, they couldn't believe that.

The real one turned to the ghost. "She died? Oh, please, tell me I can do something to fix that? I'd do anything." He begged.

"The thing is" The ghost finally said as she took off her hood and revealed Regina. "you can't." Everything turned black and all he could her was her cruel laugh.

* * *

Rumplestiltskin still believed he could fix what he had done. There had to be a way he could change the future. That is why the moment he was back in his catsle he set off to find Belle. Finding her wasn't a problem, she was still in the same tavern. The question was, would she forgive him?

"Belle." He managed to say.

"Rumple."

When she turned around there was a mix of expressions on her face. Surprise. Relief. A bit of anger. And above all love. Yes, she still felt the same way. Now only if he could…

He gulped and smiled at her. "I'm sorry, Belle."

And those were the magic words. The girl ran towards him and he pulled her into an embrace.

"I love you." She said through tears.

"And I love you too."


End file.
